Act against Militants or Face International Isolation, Pakistan govt tells Military

In what could be seen as an unprecedented warning for the Pakistan military, the Pakistan Muslim League (N)-led government has informed the former about the growing international isolation of Islamabad

October 6, 2016: In what could be seen as an unprecedented warning for the Pakistan military, the Pakistan Muslim League (N)-led government has informed the former about the growing international isolation of Islamabad and has sought consensus on several key actions by the state.

At least two sets of actions have been agreed as a result of the most recent meeting, an undisclosed one on the day of the All Parties’ Conference, which took place on Monday.

As per the Dawn, firstly, General Rizwan Akhtar Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), accompanied by National Security Adviser (NSA) Nasser Janjua, is to travel to each of the four provinces with a message for provincial apex committees and ISI sector commanders.

It is reported that the message that has been sent by the government is that military-led intelligence agencies are not to interfere if law enforcement acts against militant groups that are banned or until now considered off-limits for civilian action.

The second set of action is that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed that fresh attempts should be made to conclude the investigation in the Pathankot terror attack and restart the stalled 26/11 Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi antiterrorism court.

The decisions which have been made after an extraordinary verbal confrontation between Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ISI DG, indicate a “high-stakes” new approach by the PML-N-led Pakistan government.

Islamabad, October 14: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday said that military dictatorship always halted progress in the country.

Pakistan Prime Minister, who was in Karachi on a day-long visit, was speaking during the inauguration ceremony of the Pakistan International Bulk Terminal at Port Qasim.

Pakistan Prime Minister said that the people of Pakistan should decide who they want in the government and who they don’t.

“The masses have always elected political parties that have performed well for them,” he said adding that leaders who do not perform well should be sent home.

“But the process should be democratic and the people should decide,” stressed Abbasi.

Taking an apparent dig at the army chief for his remarks of the country being in “sky high” debt, the Pakistan Prime Minister said that the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)-led government, in its four years, has made the economy stable.

According to him, the current government was successfully completing power projects, initiated by the previous government, along with the ones the ruling PML-N started.

“The previous government faced an energy crisis, our government has brought stability in the country and added 10,000 MWs to the national power grid,” Abbasi added.

The Pakistan International Bulk Terminal at Port Qasim was completed at a cost of $285 million early this year, according to a press statement, and has so far provided berths to 12 coal ships. It has been dredged to a depth of 13 metres and is capable of handling ships of up to 65,000 tonnes.(IANS)